There are a few art forms and decorations that have been used centuries ago and are still very prevalent today. One of them is Chinoiserie.

Chinoiserie is a French term meaning “Chinese-esque.” It is an art form with European style inspired by the exotic images of ancient China. Since it has a Chinese influence, you can see oriental inspired images in these art forms such as birds, mountains, trees, flowers and pagodas in bold hues of mostly black, gold and red.

Because the images of Chinoiserie are decorative and embody true beauty and incredible craftsmanship, Chinoiserie became popular in Europe during the 17^th and 18^th century and has been a preferred interior design theme in Paris, London, Berlin and St Petersburg. You can see this style in many different art forms like ceramics, silks, porcelains and painted canvases which adorn the chateaus and estates in Europe like Château de Chantilly. One of the major Chinoiserie art created was the Louis Le Vau’s Trianon de Porcelaine built for Louis XIV.

This love for the mix of European and ancient Chinese style is still very much appreciated today. In fact you will see many of decorative pieces like wall clocks, porcelains, lamp shades, mirrors, to name just a few, which are Chinoiserie. It can also be found on wooden accessories and furniture such as jewelry boxes, cabinets, tables and more. There are also many wallpapers and carpets available today whose pattern has been influenced by Chinoiserie style. There are truly some styles that never die and one of them is Chinoiserie.

Ask your Chateau Interiors designer where to find lovely pieces of Chinoiserie you’ll treasure forever.

Imagine visiting Europe and starting with a visit to an inviting spa with an old-world feel in Italy. Taking a few days to mellow out after the stresses of work and family sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately, for most of us it is only a dream. But how about making your own bathroom your spa-style escape? Let’s borrow some ideas from this beautiful setting to create a bathroom that helps us relax and take a break.

While we probably can’t find someone to make these amazing stone columns and arches, tumbled travertine is a good substitute for the soft-looking stone walls and ceiling. Choose a rougher stone to set the mood of older times and add personality to your space. You could add an arch of stone to highlight the back of your spa tub and soften the lines of the room.

This light keeps the room just gently lit. You can reduce glare while still bringing light into the space by using glass block or sheer curtains for any windows. Spend the time to find a light fixture that also softens the light in the room.

That chaise lounge certainly looks inviting, but most of today’s bathrooms don’t have the space for that luxury. You could add a bench or seat with a white cushion, however, to give you a resting place while adding a sense of comfort.

Finally, while you really can’t expect to fit a 15-foot spa in your bathroom, no matter how much you want it, a deep spa tub with enough room for you to stretch your feet and some jets to help relax your aches and pains would work well. If your water isn’t that luscious blue, add towels and accessories to bring that sea-tone into your space,

Make your bathroom into a special escape just for you to relax and let go of the stresses of your day. You’ll feel better.

What do a gold leaf bench and a trip to Sardinia have in common? For Dallas Channel 5 anchorwoman Jane McGarry and her husband, Kevin, they were the seeds of inspiration for their colorful Mediterranean home in Dallas.  The bench was purchased from designer Ken Blasingame’s colorful shop in the 1990s. As they say in the movies, it was the start of a beautiful friendship.

During a 2002 trip to Sardinia, the McGarrys were inspired by traditional Sardinia architecture, which influenced by Greek, Latin and Italian cultures.  When they decided to redesign their new home, Blasingame was brought in as the designer.  Known for his bold and shameless love of color, Blasingame created an extensive color palette and rooms layered with pattern, comfortable furniture and eclectic accessories.

Jane McGarry told D Home magazine, “We wanted our home to be beautiful, full of interesting things, but completely comfortable. Some rooms just get too serious. Everyone needs to have something funky—a little off—in it.”  We think they accomplished just that with this eating area which captures the spirit of colorful, comfortable rooms that don’t take themselves too seriously.

The colorful chandelier sets the eclectic, colorful tone for the room.  We love the limey green dining chairs with their rush seats. Blue and white accents in the china add both pattern and color. The table and hutch both look like rustic antiques, making the room feel comfortable and lived in. The colors of the chandelier also relate to the sitting area visible in the back, creating a nice flow between the two rooms.

Just as with the McGarrys, a found object and a love for a specific place or time can be the start of a beautiful home created for living and loving and not just as a showplace. We would love to help you create a home meant just for you.

French Provincial and French Country continue to be popular styles for home décor. Provincial style refers to the “rustic” versions of fine French antiques from the 17th-19^th century. This style was originally designed for King Louis 15^th to be placed in his country homes.

Provincial was intended to be informal, but today, it is used in formal to semi-formal rooms or mixed eclectically with modern or contemporary looks successfully. It is often found painted in an array of pale colors such as blue, green, pink and cream. Reproductions are lovely and quite affordable. This style goes well with light stained or painted wood floors. Here’s our mini-glossary on key terms to know about French Provincial furniture:

Armoire:  Cabinet traditionally used for storing linens and clothes.  Great for concealing a TV or electronic equipment and for adding extra closet space in a bedroom.

Bergere: A closed arm chair that tends to be more substantial than a fauteuil.  Makes a nice chair for the living room or bedroom.

Bistro Chair: Seen in the cafes of Paris, these woven chairs look great in kitchens, casual dining rooms or porches.

Bureau Plat: A writing desk. Writing desks make a great lap top table in a home office or living room.

Commode:  A chest of drawers.  While primarily used in bedrooms, we like them in a hall or living room as extra storage for shoes, scarves or DVDs.

Chaise: A side chair.  Perfect for an accent chair in the living room or used as a vanity chair in a dressing room.

Chaise Longue:  Or as we call them, chaise lounge.  These chairs are perfect for lounging and reading.  Works well in a bedroom or family room.

Étagère:  A shelving or display piece which can be used to display plates, books or knickknacks. Also it’s terrific for storage in a bathroom if you have the space.

Fauteuil: An arm chair with open sides, ideal for a dining table or as an occasional chair.

Refectory Table:  Long, wood farmhouse style table initially used in a convent or monastery for dining.  Today, one is perfect for an eat-in kitchen or dining table.

The majority of the grand haciendas of Mexico met their demise in the revolution of 1910-1920 when several independents, including Pancho Villa and his enlisted troops, burned and pillaged every hacienda they could find. Prior, the haciendas flourished under colonial rule, then dictatorship, some growing in land mass equal to that of the country of Belgium.

The actual casa or homes of the haciendas were enormous and replete with furniture and décor befitting the owner’s status as an agricultural land mogul. Their architecture and interior design were influenced greatly by Mexico’s French occupation from 1864-1867 by Emperor Maximillian and his wife, Empress Carlota. While their rule lasted only a few brief years, French influence in Mexican culture and design lasted well into the 20^th century.

Today, hacienda style is very popular and carries with it a great deal of European influence from Spain, France and Italy and even that of Mexico’s own native Indian culture. With this in mind, here are some design ideas you can incorporate in your own hacienda style décor:

• Paint walls creamy white to contrast with dark hardwood wide plank flooring. Distressed and pickled looks best to give the flooring an aged and worn look.
• Use hand woven area rugs in the native Indian patterns of the Zapotec and the Oaxaca. These bright geometric designed rugs are naturally dyed using plant and insect dyes which are mixed by hand. Place smaller rugs in the entry, bathrooms and kitchen and larger rugs in the living room and dining room under the furniture.
• Use heavy ornately carved dark wood furniture accented with heavy ironwork latches, hinges and decorative scroll work.
• Staircases look authentic with heavy wood carved banisters and supported by massive twisted metal or ornate scroll worked railing.
• Bring nature indoors with huge potted plants such as the agave cactus, yucca, cigar and Mexican heather. Be sure the pots are raised off of the floor with rollers or metal legs and do not leak so the wood floors will be safe from water damage.
• Install terra cotta tile in the kitchen and baths which flows beautiful with the heavy wood plank floors in the rest of the house.
• Hand painted tiles in the traditional blue and white or bright and vivid colors of nature work well at the backsplash and on counter tops in the bathroom and kitchen. They also look beautiful when mixed with the terra cotta tile floor in a mosaic or a repetitive design.

Today’s kitchen designs have moved away from the rich ornate Tuscan look. Although you can still find old-world options, many cooks are choosing a simpler style. This kitchen provides a good example.

The floors are a porcelain tile with enough pattern to help hide spills but not too busy to distract people from the rest of the kitchen design. The countertops are solid granite in a light but interesting pattern.

Cabinets show two newer concepts – going with a cream tone rather than a pure white painted wood, and a glaze to showcase the molding and design of the doors and drawers.

Notice one important and popular direction in today’s kitchens – the lower cabinets are drawers only. Over time, cooks have discovered that drawers work for pots and pans as well as bowls and baking supplies. Unlike cabinets with doors, these allow you to reach all the way to the back and see exactly where everything is. Many cabinet companies have dividers that enable cooks to position dishes and bowls as well without worries about breakage. Another reason for the switch is as baby boomers age, they tend to prefer drawers to having to get down on the floor and dig for that casserole that’s hiding at the back of a large cabinet.

The appliances have that classic stainless steel look. This has not lost its popularity over time. However, you may see some appliances such as refrigerators with doors that match the cabinetry to keep too much stainless from chilling a kitchen.

Notice also the pot-filler over the stove – a small faucet that allows you to fill pasta and soup pots without having to haul the heavy containers across the kitchen to the sink. It may not be visible in this photo, but most kitchens supplied with this option also have a small spill sink to deal with any hot water that may need to be discarded later.

This kitchen combines style with functionality, and its design is simple enough for any cook to adjust colors and accessories to make it unique and inviting.

We came across this room designed by Nate Berkus on the Cococozy blog.  It caught our eye so we wanted to share with you the five things we really like about this room:

1)    Light Floors

We love the light floors.  The gray and white stripes are a fresh twist on painted floors.  A similar feeling could be achieved with a room size striped area rug in gray and white or other light neutrals.

2)    Dark Ceiling

While a dark wood ceiling probably isn’t an option for most of us, we like the drama it adds to this large room.  If you have a wood ceiling or beams, think about staining them dark or painting them a darker color to add drama.

3)    Multiple Sitting Arrangements

A large room allows for multiple seating arrangements.  Who wouldn’t love to have a living room big enough for that option?  One central seating area wouldn’t optimize the space.  Nate created four distinct seating areas, including one for lounging in front of the fire.

4)    Bookcases

We love the pair of bookcases that anchor the far end of the room and flank the large window.  The dark color stands out against the lightness of the walls and floors and relates nicely to the ceiling.

5)    Splashes of Color

Neutral walls, floors and ceilings mean you are free to add accent colors in the furniture and accessories.  We love the complementary accents of blue, yellow and orange. The orange double chaise lounge in front of the fireplace stands out against the other neutral furniture and the teal sofa between the bookcases.  Blue and yellow can be found around the room in other accent pieces such as throw pillows and art.

Have you ever considered painting the ceiling? Not sure how to select a paint color that coordinates with the wall color? Follow along for appropriate examples in which to paint the ceiling in a space.

Present day construction is building rooms with higher ceilings where their average height is increasing from typical ceiling height of 8’ to an average of 10’ to 12’ high. High ceilings are great for many reasons, such as: allowing for higher windows (thus letting in more natural daylight), they feel of the room is more open and spacious and allows installation of taller doors and windows. In turn, rooms can feel too vast and overpowering. To create a more intimate interior space, paint the ceiling a darker color than the wall color. A darker color will give the appearance of a lower ceiling with a more intimate/comfortable feel. Paint low ceilings a lighter color than the wall, this will create the appearance of a higher ceiling.

If your space has detailed molding that you would like to show off, paint the ceiling a color that contrasts with trim and wall color. Create contrast by painting the ceiling lighter or darker (than the wall and or trim color). No matter which path you wish to take, creating a small amount of contrast can make a big difference in the appearance of the space. Your eye will notice this finishing detail very positively.

What’s interesting about this photo? Yes, you’re right; it’s the tile on the wall to the right. It’s amazing how adding this facing makes an otherwise uninteresting wall take on personality.

Do you have places either inside or outside your home that could benefit from adding some tile or stone? This is a simple example, but imagine it on a wall as you walk up to the front door of a contemporary home. It would add style and interest without really limiting your other design options for the front entryway.

Does your foyer catch the eye immediately? What would happen if you added a wall of slate as you walk in? How about a stone or tile mosaic instead of standard artwork?

Do you have a den or bedroom with crown molding? A simple embossed trim tile underneath it would add color and intrigue. If your fireplace seems incomplete or out-of-date, adding a stone or tile surround or even a facing that runs to the ceiling could turn it from ho-hum to the focal point of the room.

If your finished basement has columns you can’t remove, adding a tile or stone facing can turn them from a disadvantage to an architectural feature. A bar or kitchen island can also become more interesting by adding tile or stone trim.

Take a walk around your home – both inside and outside – and see where tile or stone might add some interest and style. Then visit our showroom and ask to see the newest arrivals in our selection. You may find the perfect addition for your home.